RECENT NEWS

Despite many initiatives and high profile public awareness campaigns, more than half of NHS patients with symptoms of stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) still fail to get fast access to life-saving, stroke prevention surgery.

A set of management guides have been developed by BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) to help healthcare organisations better understand the EU Directive on the prevention of sharps injuries, legislation and to plan a compliance strategy.

Infection prevention and control has been a key aspect of clinical practice for years and has been viewed as the responsibility of a small number of individuals in the acute healthcare sector.

Rates of both C. difficile and MRSA are now at their lowest ever levels in Scotland, according to a report published by Health Protection Scotland.

The NHS may be facing a diabetes time bomb involving the future care of hundreds-ofthousands of younger patients, concludes a recent audit of diabetes in England and Wales.

After lobbying from the MS Society and after a recent consultation, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is to update the clinical guideline for MS.

Results of a HTA project indicate that hysterectomies are the most cost-effective solution for heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB), but less invasive techniques should be offered first.

The Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) has confirmed the continuation of the National Oesophagogastric Cancer Audit. It has been funded for another three years, with an expectation for it to continue beyond this period.

The annual Association for Perioperative Practice (AfPP) congress and exhibition AfPP 2011 will take place at Bournemouth International Centre from 19 to 21 October.

Poor handover between doctors, nurses and multidisciplinary teams is a common cause of error in hospitals, and is a preventable cause of patient harm.

A recent official report on NHS performance shows that continuing improvements are being made. The Quarter 4 report sets out NHS quality and financial performance between January and March 2011.

New research suggests that hundreds of people who take statins to reduce their risk of having a heart attack or stroke, could be at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.

Cholesterol-lowering statin drugs now make up nearly a fifth of all medicines prescribed for heart and circulatory disease, according to new statistics. There are more than 52 million prescriptions for lipid-lowering drugs in England each year.

BMA chairman of Council, Dr Hamish Meldrum, warned of tough times ahead as he set out the key challenges for the NHS in his opening speech to the BMA’s annual conference.

20,800 hospital admissions in England over a 12 month period were for people recorded as having a fall involving a bed, figures from The NHS Information Centre have shown.

Studies indicate that about 30% of the population in the UK suffer from sportrelated injuries. With increasing focus on sports and wellness, sports injuries are set to increase in number.

BritishMedicalJobs.com has seen a marked shift in demand for healthcare staff over the 12 months since the Coalition Government took office, with a 55% increase in demand for Locum vacancies and a comparative 55% boost in the number of online applications.

According to the results of new research people aged 16 to 30 years have the poorest understanding of ways to avoid skin cancer and are more likely to get sunburnt than older age groups, new research shows.

Six new collaborative research and development projects are set to receive nearly £6 million of Government funding in the latest stage of a five year initiative to ensure that the UK is a world leader in the development of personalised medicine.

NICE, in partnership with the Health Protection Agency (HPA), is developing advice on the prevention and control of healthcare associated infections (HCAIs) in secondary care settings as part of a pilot project. Draft advice identifies the organisational characteristics, arrangements and practices that indicate whether a secondary care Trust is effectively preventing and controlling HCAIs.